We have an official launch date for the next gaming smartphone from ASUS, the ROG Phone 5. A lot of features and specifications have been leaked online, but now we can confirm that ASUS will bring back the 3.5mm audio jack on the upcoming smartphone . This is notable because its predecessor (the ROG Phone 3) dropped the legacy port, which meant users had to rely on a USB-C dongle (or the AeroActive Cooler attachment) to plug in wired headphones.
An early audio review by DxOMark says that the ROG Phone 5 will come with a 3.5mm connector with a DAC (digital-to-analog converter) from ESS. The review also confirms that the smartphone will include a dual-front speaker setting. The handset was considered one of the best in terms of sound performance with ‘consistent results’ and ‘category-leading’ subtitles in both playback and recording. According to the test results, the ROG Phone 5 offers better sound than the Mi 10 Pro and overtakes the previous champion, the ROG Phone 3.
ASUS officially launches the ROG Phone 5 on March 10 at 7pm in Taiwan. The smartphone is expected to have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, up to 16 GB of RAM, a similar 6,000 mAh battery as its predecessor, a 6.78-inch OLED screen and a three-camera setting on the back. The smartphone is also expected to replace the ROG logo with RGB backlighting with a dot-matrix setup, as seen in some of the leaked images and the official press release shared by DxOMark. There is also a small secondary screen at the back that can be used to display things like game alerts and other notifications. In general, the design and appearance of the new device may be similar to the models of the previous generation, including a glass bowl with a standard screen without notches or hole cutouts.